Posts tagged "Yolanda Lopez"

December 12 is a day of celebration for Mexican Catholics: we mark the appearance of Our Lady of Guadalupe in 1531 on a Mexico City hilltop. Each morning on this holiday, Mexicans crowd churches at dawn, singing to the patron saint of the Americas. In Mexico City, where her church is built next to Tepeyac... Read more »

About the Blogger

Since 1995, Ray has been an English teacher in the Chicago Public Schools.

In March 2013, The White Rhino tied for second place in the Best Blog category of the Education Writers Association contest: the National Awards for Education Reporting.

In 2003, Ray earned an M.A. in Writing, with distinction, from DePaul University. In 2009, he received National Board Certification. His writing aired on National Public Radio and Chicago Public Radio many times. Three editorials appeared in the Chicago Tribune. Two commentaries appeared on CNN's Schools of Thought Blog.

Ray also writes for San-Antonio-based News Taco, which provides news and insights from a Latino perspective.

For thirty years, Ray lived in Chicago's 26th Street neighborhood. Today, he lives a little more south and a little more west in the city with his wife, son, and daughter.

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The Blog’s Title

This comes from a conversation with another Latino English teacher. When we met at an English teachers' meeting a few years ago, he said I was the only other Latino English teacher he knew: "We're white rhinos."

According to National Geographic, there are about 11,000 white rhinos struggling to survive in the wild. Unlike the animal, Latino English teachers are not an endangered species--there have never been many of us in the Chicago Public Schools. And we know the low number of Latinos with college degrees in our city.

However, I have a perspective that, like the white rhino, must fight to exist. The writing here includes my responses, reflections, reactions to Latino- and education-related issues.

I invite you to read. Comment on my posts. Like The White Rhino Facebook page. And write.